The Arkadelphia School Board adjourned after a light meeting Tuesday in the boardroom of the Administrative Building.
Superintendent Donnie Whitten welcomed Arkadelphia High School’s new principal, David Maxwell, to the community and the school district, saying he has already “hit the ground running.”
Whitten also noted that Pat Wright, Dr. Virginia Anderson and Janette Turner, all of whom were in attendance, would be taking on extra responsibilities in the district after the board decided to delete the position of assistant superintendent. Herman Thomas retired from the position in the board’s June meeting after 38 years with the district.
In the financial report, Whitten said there is $429,261 worth of taxes that the district has yet to receive. Though the financial report showed the district having $3.1 million left in its overall budget, Whitten said there is actually $3.56 million because of the “pullback” tax.
Tammy Barger, business manager, echoed Whitten’s statements, adding that local taxes are “looked at on a yearly basis.” She said local taxes are supposed to “arrive” in the district’s budget by June 30, but that is not always the case.
Whitten said a “note of interest” is that the district did not spend as much money as was brought in. He also added that the board will begin the budget process “as soon as we know how much is coming in from the state,” and should know within the next two weeks.
Whitten announced that there is one additional candidate for Zone 7, which is currently filled by Terri King. King’s competition in the election is Brent Garner. Nell Everett’s seat for Zone 6 will remain unopposed, as the deadline for filing a petition was July 17.
The election will be held at the Arkadelphia Recreation Center on Sept. 15.
Janette Turner, director of curriculum and instruction, then gave an update on professional development for training staff, giving dates for the training sessions.
Dr. Virginia Anderson, director of federal programs and administrative services, gave an update on the induction of new certified staff to the district. “Arkadelphia goes a little bit beyond state requirements” on inducting new staff, she said. With Arkadelphia’s induction program, new teachers and administrators are provided mentoring — “intensive if needed,” she said.
The meeting will be held in August at DeGray Lake Resort and will last three days, the last of which will be held at AHS.
Added to the agenda was entering a bid for milk and bread. Coleman Dairy was awarded the bid for milk, and Wonder-Hostess was awarded the bid for bread.
In other business, Whitten said administrators continue to work on securing funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “It’s a huge task to get together ... I hope to get a plan to the board as soon as possible.”